Chapter 85
Raylenne and Caverion had given advance notice to the undertaker about their visit. Nevertheless, the undertaker appeared uncomfortable upon meeting them, evident from his stern expression.
“Please have a seat.”
The undertaker led Raylenne and Caverion to a waiting room he had prepared.
“There may be a slight odor of decay.”
As the undertaker had warned, the room had an indefinable, peculiar smell. While it wasn’t pleasant, the small wasn’t the primary concern at the moment.
“What brings you here? From the looks of it, you’re not here to commission any work…”
The undertaker began cautiously as soon as they were seated. He seemed highly uneasy about their presence. Normally, people from the Duke’s household would be treated with utmost respect and courtesy.
While Raylenne was still pondering this, Caverion spoke first.
“I’ve come to ask you something.”
“What is it…?”
Caverion rested his arms on his knees, his large shoulders giving off an imposing aura today.
“I hear you handled our mother’s body. Do you remember anything about it?”
“I… remember.”
Although Nadia’s death was a long time ago, it was fortunate that both the physician and the undertaker still remembered her. Her status as the Duke’s wife likely contributed to this.
“I’d like to hear about that day. What did our mother look like when she arrived here?”
The undertaker’s eyes momentarily flickered with unease. Raylenne didn’t miss this reaction.
However, the undertaker quickly averted his gaze.
“I… don’t remember well.”
The response was highly unnatural. The undertaker clearly knew something. Perhaps sensing this, Caverion spoke again in a low voice.
“This is very important to us. We really need your help.”
The undertaker swallowed nervously, his eyes darting around anxiously. Eventually, he abruptly stood up.
“I really can’t remember. I have other matters to attend to…”
“Sit down.”
Caverion slowly raised his head, his voice firm.
“I said sit down.”
Unable to disobey Caverion’s authoritative command, the undertaker sat back down, casting nervous glances.
Raylenne observed the undertaker’s expression closely. He seemed to be afraid of something. It seemed best to probe a bit further.
Raylenne cleared her throat lightly and spoke.
“Actually, we have a general idea of what happened, so there’s no need to hide anything.”
The undertaker flinched at Raylenne’s calm tone. She continued to watch his reaction closely.
“We just want to hear more details from you.”
Fortunately, this approach seemed to work. The undertaker blinked rapidly, appearing excited.
“I… I haven’t told anyone about what I saw that day…! I’m innocent…!”
“Calm down. We have no intention of threatening you.”
Raylenne spoke soothingly, as if comforting a child, and glanced at Caverion. Caverion, seeming to understand, nodded slightly and spoke.
“I swear on the honor of the Ergen family that you will not suffer any harm.”
The undertaker seemed reassured by Caverion’s solemn promise. His blinking slowed down, and he finally began to speak.
“I… saw handprints.”
Raylenne and Caverion reacted simultaneously.
“Handprints?”
“Yes… The ribbon around the Duchess’s neck had come loose by chance, and I saw it.”
Raylenne’s expression hardened.
“A ribbon…?”
Raylenne immediately understood what the undertaker was referring to. Nadia had been wearing a white ribbon with a blue hydrangea around her neck while lying in the coffin. Raylenne had found the flower in the coffin particularly unsettling and had decided to accompany Caverion to meet the undertaker, hoping to get more information.
The mention of handprints under the ribbon was significant.
“There were clear handprints on her neck. It was definitely the mark of someone strangling her!”
The undertaker’s eyes were filled with fear as he recalled the day.
“At first, I thought it was odd… The Duke had personally handled the body and insisted that only the face be cleaned, not touching other parts of the body… But while cleaning the face, the ribbon accidentally came undone, and I saw it…”
Caverion, unable to hide his dark expression, asked.
“Did you… really tell no one about this?”
“Of course not…! It was the Duke himself. I was terrified and kept it hidden for my entire life.”
It seemed that the undertaker had remained unharmed because of this. If he had revealed anything, Duke Ergen would not have let it go.
Having uncovered the truth, Raylenne and Caverion left the undertaker’s office. The lingering smell of decay was still in the air. The grim reality they faced was as foul as a rotting corpse, if not worse.
Even after boarding the carriage, Raylenne and Caverion were silent for a while.
Raylenne eventually broke the long silence.
“So it was indeed Father who killed Mother.”
“Yes… That was the truth.”
Caverion murmured barely audibly, closing his eyes tightly. He still seemed tormented by the revelation.
“Brother…”
Raylenne took Caverion’s hand. Slowly, Caverion raised his head. His eyes were red.
“I didn’t know, and foolishly…”
“…Brother, I’m okay.”
Raylenne hadn’t anticipated that Caverion would be so distressed because of her.
Caverion’s hand, tightly clenched into a fist, seemed to be bracing against pain. The knuckles were white from the pressure, almost as if the blood had stopped flowing.
“It’s understandable that you’d be struggling. You’ve lived with the guilt of having caused Mother’s death for your entire life. I, too, have foolishly blamed you.”
“But, Brother, you’ve already apologized to me for that…”
“No, it’s something I owe you an apology for, for the rest of my life.”
Seeing Caverion’s eyes redden, Raylenne felt her own emotions stir. Caverion’s words reflected the tragedy of Raylenne’s life.
Raylenne had endured a lifetime tormented by the guilt of causing her mother’s death, which had led her to suffer from social anxiety and neuroses. Despite this, no one around her had offered her kindness, and she met a lonely death at the hands of a murderer.
‘Of course, no one knew even this much.’
After all, she had been the one who entered Raylenne’s body. It seemed she now understood why Raylenne had appeared in her dreams.
Even as she closed her eyes, Raylenne could not find peace. She had later considered that there might be a conspiracy behind her mother’s death, but ultimately, there was nothing she could do.
“Brother, what do you plan to do with what you’ve learned today?”
Given how long ago Nadia’s murder occurred, it would be challenging to prove the truth and bring the Duke to trial. Without advanced scientific technology like in Korea, finding evidence would be difficult.
In essence, making the Duke face legal judgment was nearly impossible.
However, the truth they had uncovered was not entirely useless. If this information reached Nadia’s family, they would immediately cut off the funds they had been providing to the Ergen family.
Knowing about Nadia’s diary, which would reveal the strained relationship between her and the Duke, would make it easy to inform them. Simply cutting off the funds, however, might not be satisfying enough.
Raylenne needed to consider how to use this truth to inflict the most significant damage on the Duke.
‘Hmm…’
Right after freeing Aiden, she needed to leverage the Duke’s anger towards her effectively.
At that moment, Caverion spoke in a low voice.
“Raylenne, I would like you to entrust me with handling Father.”
The word “handling” from Caverion’s mouth was quite unfamiliar. Although Caverion had disliked the Duke, he had never openly expressed such visceral hatred.
Raylenne was inclined to trust Caverion’s serious demeanor, but she still felt some anxiety.
Raylenne steeled herself and spoke.
“Brother, to be honest, I need to use this situation to my advantage.”
Caverion tilted his head slightly.
“After freeing Aiden, I need to manage the aftermath of Father. I must use this opportunity to shake him up.”
Raylenne was candid about her intentions. She had to admit that the thought of Aiden escaping was frightening. The truth about Nadia’s murderer being Duke Ergen made Raylenne even more uneasy.
Thus, she confessed her plans to Caverion, even though it might seem like she was calculating Nadia’s death.
Fortunately, Caverion’s usual calm voice continued.
“Don’t worry.”
“…”
“I’ve been planning something for a long time. If it succeeds, even if Aiden escapes, Father will not be able to harm you, who were once his observer.”
A plan that had been in the works…?
Caverion gently tucked Raylenne’s hair behind her ear.
“I know I’ve disappointed you for a long time, but for this matter, I hope you will trust me.”
Raylenne gazed at Caverion quietly.
‘He must have been secretly preparing something.’
Though she was curious about what it was, it was reassuring to know that there was a plan in place.
Raylenne nodded and replied.
“Yes… I will trust you, Brother.”
